Stream line wire wrench



Jan. 2, 1934. F. A. VOLZ f STREAM LINE WIRE WRENCH Filed Feb. 24. 1932 Fred: rick A. V012 Patented Jan. 2, 1934 UNITED STAES PATENT orrics STREAM LINE WIRE WRENCH Application February 24, 1932.

3 Claims.

This invention relates to wrenches, and has particular reference to a wrench for use in connection with stream line wires such as are em ployed in aircraft construction, as stays or struts,

et cetera. Stream line wire is generally of a flat, oval cross section, and is employed in airplane construction in preference to round wire because it has less air resistance and is less likely to hum. Where used as a strut or stay, it is usual to support the stay in such manner that when the wire is turned it will be drawn taut, the arrangement acting somewhat in the nature of a turnbuckle. Heretofore, these wires have been turned to tighten them up by ordinary wrenches,

with the result that the wires were mutilated and damaged and, particularly, burrs or projections were formed on the edges, thus increasing humming and wind resistance.

The a m of the present invention is to provide a wrench of such construction that it may be employed to turn stream line wires and the like without danger of damaging the edges thereof or otherwise mutilating the wires. To this end, I provide a wrench having a slot adapted to receive stream line wires of various sizes, the s'de walls of the slot being so arranged and correlated as to provide for engagement between those walls and the wires at areas spaced inwardly from the edges of the wires.

part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplifled in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein is shown one embodiment which the present invention may take,

Fig. l is a face view of my improved wrench;

Fig. 2 is an edge view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view; and

Fig. 4 is a view of a stay of the character adapted to be tightened by my improved wrench.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the wrench therein illustrated is shown as having a relatively flat shank or handle 10 with disk-like heads 11 and 12 at the respective ends thereof. While 50 the wrench is shown as being double-ended, it is obvious that the improvements of the present invention may be employed in a wrench having but one head and that the shape of the handle and the heads form no particular part of the present invention. The invention resides more Other objects will be in part obvious, and in Serial No. 594,893

particularly in the form and shape of the slots or notches in the heads.

In accordance with the present invention, the head of the wrench is provided with a notch or slot open at one end and. closed at its inner end and having side walls which are provided with oppositely disposed inwardly projecting and longitudinally curved portions spaced forwardly of the inner end wall. Referring first to the slot 13 or" the head 12, it will be observed that each side wall, starting from the inner wall, is curved inwardly, as at 14, towards the medial line of the slot, an then it curves outwardly, as at 15. The side walls, beyond the portions 15, are straight, as at 16, but these portions 16 diverge. Portions l4 and 15 form convex projections, and the apcxes of these projections are disposed opposite to one another and constitute a neck. The slot, inwardly of the neck, increases in width towards the inner wall of the slot, and the slot, outwardly of the neck, also increases in width. The slot 17, shown in the head 11, is generally similar to that disclosed in the head 12. In this case, the straight portions 16' of the side walls are parallel to one another. The slot 1'? is larger than the slot 13 in order that it may accommodate larger sizes of stream line wires.

In Fig. 4 is more or less diagrammatically illustrated a strut or stay such as is used in airplane construction. This stay. has a wire 25 which is relatively flat but somewhat oval or elliptical in cross section. Threaded into the opposite ends of the wires are screws 26 connected by pins 27 to suitable elements 28, which are to be tied together. It will be understood that, when the wire is turned, it will be drawn taut. Ordinarily, there are about seven sizes of wires of this sort, and by providing the wrench with two heads, as illustrated, the Wrench will accommodate these various sizes.

It will be seen from Fig. 1 that, owing to the shape and contour of the slots, the wires will be engaged by the side walls 'of the slot inwardly of the side edges of the wires. Thus, mutilation of the edges of the wires is avoided. This arrangement provides fairly large bearing surfaces between the wrench and the side faces of the wires, thus permitting the wires to be drawn taut without the danger of the wrench forming marks or burrs on the wires.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above 0 description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed is:

1. A wrench of the character described having a head provided with a slot open at one end and closed at its other end, said slot having side walls each of which is defined by a convex curve forwardly of the inner end wall which first narrows then widens the slot and a straight portion beyond said curved portion.

2. A wrench of the character described having a head provided with a slot having an inner end wall and a pair of side walls, said slot as it progresses from its inner end to its open end gradually decreasing in width and then gradually increasing in width.

3. A Wrench of the character described having a head provided with a slot closed at one end and open at the other end, said slot having complernentary side walls each of which has a convexly curved portion followed by a straight portion, said straight portions being outwardly inclined.

FREDERICK A. VOLZ. 

